Tony Stark crawled his way out of the cold Cyberian bunker, his disabled battered suit hindering his progress but offering some comfort against the elements. Stopping to lean against the exit, Tony proceeded to lay down, the pain of his damaged ribs and sternum bringing him to stop.
No-one knew he was here, not even Friday could help him.
He was alone, broken and defeated. He wanted out, but some small part of defiance kept him going. He needed to survive so he could make Rogers pay and protect his remaining loved ones from threats that had yet to come.
Gathering his remaining strength, Tony hauled himself up and on to his feet, stumbled forward and made his way outside into the blistering cold; hoping Friday called for help when their contact was lost.
Ten minutes went by and no help came, but as Tony began to succumb to the blistering cold of Siberia he heard the faint hum of a jet engine.
Out of the darkening sky, a Quin jet came thundering out before slowing to a graceful landing, a couple of meters from Tony Stark's prone form. Tony heard the gentle hiss of the rear hatch open and saw the blurry outline of a tall being before drifting unconscious.
Vision, the only one left in the compound after the events of the airport fiasco, was alerted by the distressed cries of Friday after losing contact with her creator. Jumping into action, Vision managed to calm Friday down long enough for her to give him coordinates and her last scans of Tony and the suit's condition before she lost contact; it wasn't pretty.
Scrambling towards the closest Quin jet in the hangar, Vision gave it everything the jet could handle and hoped he would be there in time. Arriving at the correct coordinates, Vision landed the Quin jet and stepped out of the rear hatch.
Noticing the fallen form of crimson and gold, Vision rushed forward in a haze of panic.
"Come on Tony." Vision mumbled, grasping his fallen friend and lifting him up. Striding back into the Quin jet, Vision put Tony onto the medical gurney and strapped him down, before storming into the cockpit and activating autopilot so he could tend to Tony.
A few weeks later:
Tony Stark, having arrived back from the hospital a few days prior, was frantically, almost angrily tinkering away; going over lines upon lines of code, formulas and numerous other projects, all in a desperate attempt to fix his now damaged-beyond-repair body. He remembers it like it was yesterday: having just woken up after being treated for hyperthermia Tony Stark was given the list of his injuries;
"Mr. Stark, I've come with the report on your injuries and I'm afraid it's not good news."
Swallowing hard, Tony looked up, meeting the doctor's eyes "go on."
"Well, Mr Stark, you've suffered mild hyperthermia and some internal bleeding, along with several bruises and cuts which are all healing. However, what's concerning is the damage done to your chest; I'm afraid, Mr. Stark, that it's completely compromised, and your artificial sternum is cracked and shifted; placing pressure on your lungs and heart. Bottom line is; if you want to live, your Iron Man days are over."
Hearing this came like a physical blow; he couldn't ever touch the skies or defend the people he loves ever again, and it was all thanks to one captain Rogers. But after a few days back home, and feeling sorry for himself, Tony realized something; he's Tony Stark; and Stark men are made of iron.
He could fix this, because that's what he was good at. So, he threw himself into his work; clouded by determination, fear, and paranoia. First things first; he had to fix himself; and that how it came to be.
A month later, asleep on an operating table in Dr. Cho's lab with chest wide open as his newly improved arc Reactor was attached, with reinforcements bolted to his ribs and injector ready to force his improved and fixed version of Extremis and nanotech directly into his body; to repair and enhance his anatomy.
With a sharp pop, the injector fired the Arc reactor; blue gel-like liquid, into Tony Stark's body, the effects taking place immediately as his whole body began to glow blue. The Extremis started its work; healing all body ailments and perfectly fused the reactor in place like it had always belonged there.
Meanwhile, the newly activated nanobots began their own work reinforcing Tony's bone structure with a thin surrounding of gold-titanium alloy and reworked his brain into an organic supercomputer before finally housing themselves in their Arc reactor's storage space and beginning to replicate for when the body needed them.
Waking an hour later, after the effects of the drugs pumped into his system wore off, Tony began to panic as his brain reached out to all wireless connections; his head struggling to take in so much information even with his enhancements. Being alerted the moment he awoke, Dr. Cho made her way to the medical wing. Entering the building, Cho was immediately alerted to the thrashing form of Tony Stark.
"Mr. Stark, what's wrong?" Cho shouted rushing over.
"Too much information! I can't, I can't!" Tony strained out, unable to free himself from this madness; every single electronic calling to him.
"Focus Tony! breathe and focus on yourself, nothing else; block everything out!"
Beginning to get his breathing under control, Tony focuses on shutting everything else out, just follow his own breathing in and out. Having got his mind re-aligned, Tony begins to experiment; focusing on certain electronic items on the room and trying to connect to them.
At first, nothing happens but then his dark brown eyes flashed arc reactor blue, and the signals flowed to him. He could feel the alarm, doors, computers, even every individual nanobot swirling in his chest. Focusing on the far-right door at the end of the lab, Tony willed it open, and with a gentle whir the electronics buzzed to life and the door softly slid open.
"Oh my god did you see that!" Tony shouts, acting like a little kid, all previous memories of agony disappearing in the face of sheer joy and shock of what he was now capable of.
"Yes Tony, I did but what I would like to know is; are you nuts! what did you make me do to you? I thought this was just a procedure to fix your chest, by supporting it with the reactor, and using a small dose of Extremis to fix the damage so you didn't die!" screamed Dr Cho, angry at being lied to.
"Look, Hellen, I didn't tell you because you wouldn't have done it. I need this, to protect my family and stop the coming threats. This way I'll always be prepared; even without a suit, even without Friday, I had to do this."
Getting up from the bed, Tony makes his way out of the room, pausing at the exit "thanks Doc." Tony mumbles, before leaving and entering the elevator; that will take him to the main floor where his brand-new Audi was parked.
"Phase one down, phase two and three to go," mumbled Tony, entering the car before speeding off towards his tower, ducking and weaving between traffic at twice the speed limit. Having arrived at the tower, Tony began phase two; a phase driven by paranoia and fear. Entering his lab, Tony made his way over to his workbench, brushing his mind against Friday's coding in a gentle greeting.
"Hey, boss" Came the gentle lilt of an Irish accent from the speakers, not even phased by Tony's new method of greeting; already knowing her boss' plans.
"Hey, baby girl, is all the equipment ready for phase two?"
"Yes, boss" Friday replied, lighting up the holographic monitors on Tony's desk.
Sitting down, Tony swiped the screen aside and focused on the three items, other than his computers, sitting on the desk; two homing bracelets and one injector with a microscopic comm piece. Grabbing the bracelets, Tony snapped them around his wrists, giving him a further sense of security as they locked into place; no one was leaving him vulnerable again.
Finally, he picked up the injector and placed it just behind his ear and fired it. This shot the tiny comm into place, giving him a constant feed to both Friday and his new team; but that new team was phase three.
Moving on, Tony pulled his holograms back into focus and began designs on a new suit; designed to subdue or take out his old teammates if the need should arise. He would like to say he took no pleasure in designing this, but that simply wouldn't be true. He wanted revenge on those backstabbing traitors and the world wanted them arrested for their crimes, luckily He was only happy to oblige them.
First, he started by bulking up the armour in certain places; he preferred his sleeker models, but he was going to need the extra protection. So, the whole armour got an extra inch of armour plating, with chest and gauntlets getting slightly more.
Next was dealing with Mrs. Romanoff, or that backstabbing bitch that let Rogers get away; she wasn't too much problem, but he didn't want her widow bites frying any systems, so he made sure to bolster his electrical systems with insulation against outside currents.
Finally, he had to arm the thing; he needed it to be lethal but also capable of easily disarming and capturing the rogues. Starting with the gauntlets, he added the standard arm rocket into the right gauntlet just in case. Then, in the left he added a rapid-fire modified version of the widow bites; which should easily take down the non-enhanced beings on the rogue's team.
Moving on, Tony equipped the shoulder sections with E.M.P. missiles to take out the Falcon's flight pack and bring him down where he was easier to deal with. Then it was just a matter of taking him down.
That left three; the super soldier, potentially agent Barton plus the ant man to deal with.
Focusing in on ant man after the airport fiasco, Tony decided that he could charge the armour plating; creating an electric field which would knock the ant man out if he tried to get in whilst simultaneously stunning anyone that wanted to grab him.
To finish the suit off, Tony added a reinforced-handcuff dispenser and some further bracing along the gauntlets, so they held up in a fist fight.
"Friday, fabricate it and paint it; I'm done for the night. Oh, and order a meeting with the accords committee; It's time to start phase three."
"Yes, Boss meeting scheduled for ten o clock would you like the usual colour scheme?"
"Hmmm. No; Make a glossy black, the secondary a dulled-down silver and add some deep crimson highlights; let's make it scream betrayal and vengeance." Tony chuckled amusedly to himself, exiting the workshop.
The following morning, Tony woke up early, grabbed his coffee and made his way down to the lab. He had a few projects to finish before the meeting with united nations council, "Friday bring up the schematics for Rhodey's leg braces and start a call too"
"Yes boss"
A few seconds later, Rhodey picked up the call "Tony, what do you need? you know I'm in physical therapy at this time"
"Oh, quit your whining, baby-boo. I've got some questions and some things to run by you before my meeting" Tony replied; amused.
"Alright, what have you got for me?"
"First things first. How are the leg braces? do they need any improvements? are they uncomfortable?"
"Chill Tony. No, they're fine thanks. I can walk again thanks to you," Rhodey whispered, absentmindedly flexing his legs" now what else do you need?"
"I'm scrapping the Avengers: that's not what the world's people need. It doesn't need people to avenge them: it needs people to save them. That's why, with the help of you if you accept, I'm creating the "Defenders": a team that prioritises the lives of civilians over taking down the bad guy."
"Who are you and what have you done with Tony Stark?" Rhodey replies chuckling quietly, "but in all seriousness, you have my support; you're actually being mature for once."
"Hey, I'm always mature," Tony replied with mock indignation "Anyway, I've got a meeting to get to, will talk later" and with that Tony hung up and made his way down to the lift.
Entering the lift Tony uses his new abilities to will the elevator to his office his eyes flashing arc reactor blue again; unnecessary, but to Stark's taste. Entering the office, Tony chucked himself into his chair and straightened out his suit.
"Friday, start the call; let's get this shindig over with."
"Yes boss," Friday replies, activating the holographic display on Tony's desk; connecting him to the UN council.
"Good evening folks." Tony formerly greets, glancing at all the members currently on the board.
"Good evening Mr. Stark, I've been told there is something you'd like to discuss" The German representative replies; the current head of the board.
"Yes, I have a proposal for the council and would like your permission to continue with this idea."
"Go on Mr. Stark we're all ears."
"We can all agree on that the Avengers, although they did their part, they were a misguided group who thought they were above the law, me included. So, I propose, ladies and gentlemen, a new group that I'm naming the Defenders; the priority of this group is to defend the people as they're top priority; first and foremost. We will operate under your jurisdiction and oversight. What I need your permission for is for me to build new facilities for training and housing for the Defenders." Tony said, glancing around at all the faces, hoping to see some indication of their opinion on the matter, but no one was giving anything away
"We need time to discuss Mr. Stark, we will have your answer by tomorrow. Good day" and, with a flash, the connection was terminated.
Standing up from his desk, Tony Stark decided it was time to get some more work done in his workshop. He had some designs to finish; so, he was prepared if the council agreed to go ahead with his proposal. Entering his lab, Tony accessed the holographic display and projected the new design for Defender's tower; it was similar in design to the Avengers tower, but was much taller and, instead of one landing pad, it had four; one in each compass direction; two for Quin jets, one for the Iron Man and war machine armour and the final one for all incoming official aircraft.
Zooming in on the bottom of the tower, Tony started to add a fairly large garage to the east side of the tower big enough for personal vehicles and any vehicles operated and used by the Defenders. Next Tony zoomed back out, before exploding the image of the tower; showing all the various rooms. The bottom floors housed the gym training room and simulation bays. The middle floors housed several large labs, some living space and the hulk-proof safety chamber. Moving upwards was the living quarters, eating areas and recreation rooms; which was all followed by the final three floors that consisted of the offices, meeting rooms and finally Tony Stark's personal penthouse and workshop.
"Friday, forward the final design to the UN committee and bring up the schematics for the war machine armour; the other one is toast and it needs some improvements."
"Yes, boss," Friday replied, switching the displays from the tower to the war machine armour.
"First things first; Friday, increase the thickness of armour around the main reactor's casing and install a reserve battery in the back of the armour."
"new components put in place boss; simulations suggest the battery will give the armour a minute of running time if the primary reactor should fail."
"Well, I should add some more, you can never be too careful; install a parachute to the back of the armour and set it to deploy if the suit is out of power" Tony replies, spinning the display around lazily.
"Sir, may I recommend installing these features in the Iron Man armour?"
"Friday you may recommend all you want, but I'll be fine; My armour is more manoeuvrable and has a higher speed and power output than the War-machine; plus, it's lighter and more streamlined."
"That hasn't stopped you being shot out of the sky before sir," Friday says back, matter-of-factly, her code nudging against Tony's brain in a teasing manner.
"Oh god, my own creation is teasing me; what has the world come to? Although please be serious Friday, we aren't designing this to play kid's games. We're trying to save lives."
"Boss, a representative from UN is on the line; should I put him through?"
"go ahead, Friday."
A few seconds later, the monitors around the room flash on showing a tall man with dark hair with a file in his hands.
"Mr. Stark, I am the current head of the UN and I've got an answer to your proposal."
"I thought I was getting my response tomorrow?" Tony replies, looking questionably at the screen; almost daring the man to deny him.
"Now let's not jump to conclusions, Mr. Stark. Your proposal shocked the council this morning, but we hundred percent agree with your idea. However, there are conditions. First and foremost, the Defenders can't be based out of a country or in a populated area; therefore, if you wish to build this new tower it will have to be on an island that we have selected in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean which is owned by nobody. This island will be from henceforth owned by the UN and will put you fairly close to both Europe, Africa, and America; hopefully reducing response time to certain areas. Secondly, we will be sending in a military commander to act as oversight; she will get you into a proper team that can operate around each other, she will act as your messenger between you and the United Nations and finally, but not least important; you must operate by the Sokovia accords and all members have to have signed them."
"They're acceptable terms, except one thing; how do I build a tower in the middle of the Atlantic? it would cost me millions in shipping alone."
"Don't worry Mr. Stark, the UN will cover shipping cost. But this is your project; you pay for everything else, good day."
As the screen flickered off, Tony sat down into his chair wondering to himself how this would work; 'I know people have families, some need school. How can I house a team if all of them have to be elsewhere every day?' He kept this internal conflict hidden for now and pushed forwards.
"Friday, get the contractors together; we have a tower to build. Forward all relevant information to Rhodey and get as many private tutors on the line as possible; I need someone or several someone's who don't mind staying away from home and teaching super kids."
"Anything else boss?"
"Nope, that's all Friday. I'm going to surprise Pepper; prepare the MK 46," Tony says, moving towards his armour and flicking a button. The MK 46 arc reactor flickered on with a gentle hum and a slight whir as the Iron Man amour brought its systems online.
Stepping forward, Tony let the armour envelop him with a dozen soft clicks; the feeling of safety and freedom becoming ever more present as the final mechanisms shifted into place.
It was a symbol of power and destruction to most, but to him nothing beat the wind rushing past at death-defying speeds or the charging whine of a repulsor; it was a second skin and it was beautiful, elegant and deadly; all this was home because he is Iron Man; a title that he deserves after having dealt with the traitorous Rogers.
Engaging the MK46 thrusters, Tony shot up into the air, rocketing into the sky before levelling out and engaging his afterburners. The suit accelerated at incredible pace; becoming a blur within seconds. Arriving at Stark headquarters just over an hour later, Tony took the suit for a joy ride around the city; throwing himself into crazy spins and barrels roles enjoying the freedom he had created, before softly landing with a dull thud on to the helipad.
Exiting the suit, Tony made his way over to the hatch and made his way down to the elevator punching the number nine, the elevator doors closed and started its descent. Leaving the elevator, Tony made his way to Peppers; office dread filling his veins with the realization that he hadn't told Pepper about the procedures, placing the arc reactor back in his chest or the fact he looked 20 years younger due to Extremis.
Pausing at the door, Tony took a deep breath, hoping he would still have a relationship after this; she barely stands him being Iron Man never mind being enhanced. Deciding it was best to get it over and done with, he entered the office. arms wide open, arc reactor glowing brightly in his chest; after all, there was no point in hiding it.
"Pepper, you busy?"
"Tony! No, not all; come in." Pepper greets, the smile slipping off her face as her eyes zero in on the glowing light in the middle of Tony's chest "what the hell, Tony? why is that thing back in your chest? you promised me you wouldn't do this again! you said you would only have a suit for emergencies!"
"Pepper please, I had no choice; my chest was badly damaged, I wouldn't have been able to fly the suit ever again and I would be constantly worried that a hit would have collapsed my chest," Tony replies, anger rising "is that how you want me to live?"
"Tony. You don't need the suit: The world doesn't need Iron Man, I don't need Iron Man; both the company and me need Tony Stark. That stupid suit will get you killed and there's plenty of other people that can do the same job."
"I am Iron Man. Me and the suit are one in the same; and even if I didn't believe that, I wouldn't give up the freedom that the suit gives me," Tony continues, his anger reaching new levels his eyes flashing blue.
"Tony, what did you do to yourself?" Pepper gasps out, noticing the glowing blue eyes that replaced Tony's usual brown.
"I did what had to be done; the world's changing people are getting stronger and I needed a game changer. Something to keep up."
"Tony I can't do this anymore. You're lost, consumed by the need to fly into battle guns blazing. One day, you're not going to come back, and I can't deal with that, not again, Pepper mumbles out tears sliding down her face.
"I'm sorry Pepper, but this is what I believe in and if I have to lose you in order to do that then there is no choice; I love you pep, but this isn't fair on either of us."
"Just give me some time, Tony. Goodbye."
Leaving the office, Tony angrily stomps into the elevator, not even bothering with the button, just willing it to go up; The elevator responding to the signals from Tony's brain. Making his way back into the suit, Tony takes off into the night sky; his troubles melting away as he raced through the air.
"Friday divert all power to thrusters, give me all the juice this puppy's got!"
"Boss are you sure that's wise; given your current mental state?"
"Fine, I'll do it," Tony irritably replies, eyes flashing blue as he diverted the power systems in his suit.
Pushing the thrusters to their absolute maxim, Tony rocketed towards the ground; pulling up just before hitting the ground, ducking and weaving through the incoming traffic, before shooting back into the sky.
Going into a loop-the-loop, Tony was content, adrenaline buzzing through his veins as he continuously danced with death, while slowly making his way home; enjoying every minute of the freedom the suit was offering him. Arriving a couple of hours later back at the Avengers tower, Tony slipped out of the suit and made his way into bed
"Night Friday."
"Goodnight Boss."
The following morning Tony woke up to the sound of a gentle thud "Woah, what was that? Friday?"
"Colonel Rhodes aircraft has just landed boss."
"Friday, are you telling me I slept through the roaring of jet engines but not the slight thud of it landing?"
"Yes boss, Colonel Rhodes had entered the building. Sir, where should I send him?"
"Send up to the penthouse, I'll meet him in the main room," Tony replied, tugging on some fresh clothes and making his way into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
"Tony, you here?" shouted Rhodey, as exited the elevator and made his way into the penthouse.
"Yea, in the kitchen, Rhodey."
"Hey, Tony." Rhodey greeted, fixing Tony with a pointed look. "I've read the reports; both on the plans for the Defenders and what you've done to yourself, and I'd love to tell you that you were an idiot and what you're doing is stupid. But to be honest, I understand; both not wanting to give up the suit and the fact there are beings way more powerful than us out there that are a threat. In short I'm not happy, but you've got my full support."
"Thanks, Rhodey, at least I still have you," Tony replies to Rhodey's outburst, sadness tinging his words.
"Pepper... sorry man but can you blame her? And she deserves a normal life."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, I've fixed your suit and added some new modifications."
"Get in," Rhodey yells, jumping up into the air with a massive smile on his face which only last a second.
"New safety features" Tony deadpans, giving his friend an amused smile.
Entering the workshop, Tony takes Rhodey to the new War machine armour; freshly built and painted "You going to say thanks? They're not cheap."
"Thanks, Tony. I mean it."
"No problem Rhodey, but now; if you'll excuse me, I've got to have a conversation with Peter's aunt and see if we've got any tutors," Tony finished, leaving Rhodey to his own devices and making his way to his office.
"Friday, did anyone tutors agree to come to stay at the new tower when it's completed."
"Yes boss; two, but one of them would like to know if their flights; there and back, during holidays will be paid for."
"Yes, they will be paid for. And, if there is nothing else, please ring Peter."
A couple of tries later, Peter finally picks up the phone and, after some short greeting and small talk, Peter passes the phone to Aunt May "Hey Mrs. May, I've got some things to ask you and you can either agree or don't, but I'm going to ask all the same."
"Alright, Mr. Stark, lay it on me."
"I'm putting together a new team and would like your nephew to be on it, problem is we have to operate out of a small island in the Atlantic so he would have to come to live there. I know it's not ideal, but he will have private tutors, top of the line equipment and a team behind his back. Plus, you can join him." Tony rushes out, trying not to be interrupted before he's laid down the whole argument.
"I don't know what to say Stark, I'm going to need time to think and discuss this with Peter but thank you for asking me first."
"Well, whatever your decision, I wish you the best. now I've got to go to a boring Stark Industries meeting."
Many weeks later, a billion phone calls and Tony Stark was looking at the fruits of his labour; well his money other people's labour.
But nevertheless, a beautiful sight.
All that was left was completing the docks, furniture and getting it stocked with supplies. Life was looking good for Tony: UN had agreed to everything, he had a few members for the team and support team, some of the best teachers and medical professionals ready to move in at a moment's notice and the world had been quiet.
The only downside to this was his and Peppers still broken relationship. But she said to give her time and that's what he was doing.
Stepping back into to the new Mk47, Tony shot off into the air and started making his way back to New York. There was still another week minimal before they could move in and he needed to look over his current roster to see if he can pick anyone else up.
Landing back in the tower a couple of hours later, Tony felt well rested; having fallen asleep in the suit during the long flight. He made his way into his office and began going over the current roster and potential recruits.
Team: Iron Man, War machine, Spiderman, Vision, Hulk, wasp.
Potential recruits: Daredevil, Captain Marvel, Jessica jones, Black Panther.
"Friday, is this it?"
"Yes Boss, but new people pop up every day; it's just about making the connections."
"Alright Friday, keep me posted."
thankyou Puffin777 for beta reading my work